In sports, age is not just a number as the domain is gradually becoming a preserve of the young, especially for the last few years. Having said that, the mid or late twenties is proving to be too old in the world of sports off late. The entire world was in a state of shock after hearing the news of the sudden retirement of current Wimbledon and Australian Open winner Ashleigh Barty at the young age of 25. The world number one in the women’s segment of the game was already a three-time Grand Slam champion and was expected to achieve more glories in tennis but now with the shock-retirement, the success story has been cut short forcibly. Barty is not the only player to quit tennis at the peak of her career as there have been several others as well. So, let us look at the players who ended their careers while they were perched comfortably on top.
Bjorn Borg (26)
Unarguably one of the greatest ever to have graced the world of Tennis also did not have a long career. The American, who won Wimbledon five times in a row apart from conquering the French Open 6 times, was a force to reckon with for the better part of the 70s and early part of the 80s. However, Borg ended his career all of a sudden in 1983 at the age of 23 by offering fatigue as a reason. Borg had lost US Open final to John McEnroe a year and a half earlier and sadly that remains the only honour missing from his glittering career.
Andy Roddick (30)
Prior to the start of the 2012 US Open, Roddick declared that the tournament at Flushing Meadows is going to be the swansong of his career. In a 12-year roller-coaster journey, he reached the numero uno position in the men’s singles category as well as suffered three losses in Wimbledon finals. Roddick’s final act in the international tennis circuit happened to be the loss he suffered at the hands of Juan Del Pedro in the fourth round of the US Open. Constant injuries and the absence of an urge to continue were foisted as the reasons by Roddick to quit tennis at the age of 30.
Martina Hingis (22)
At 16 years and 3 months, Hingis turned out to be the youngest to win Grand Slam when she lifted the Australian Open in 1997. She also became the youngest world number one in the women’s category later on. Then in the same year, Hingis tasted more triumphs in the form of Wimbledon, US Open, but a loss in the French Open final ruined her Calendar Slam prospect, securing all Slams in a year. However, a problematic ankle prompted the five-time Slam winner to put a full stop to her successful sojourn at the age of 22.
Justin Henin (25)
The Belgian happened to be all of 25 when she decided to pull the plug. The seven-time Grand Slam champion announced her exit from the game in 2008 after her recurring problems with both form and fitness. But she came back for a short period in 2010 and stormed to the Australian Open Final, where Serena Williams prevailed over her. In 2011 she gave up tennis forever.
